The egg and its origin: what the stamp on eggs means

Since 2004, every egg from Europe must bear a standardized stamp. In this practical tip, we tell you what the numbers and letters on the eggs mean

This is what the stamp on the eggs means

Have you ever wondered why eggs are stamped? The reason is a Europe-wide regulation that ensures that every egg can be traced back to its producer. This means the so-called producer code:

• The first number stands for the farming method. 0 stands for organic farming, 1 for free-range, 2 for barn farming and 3 for cage farming.

• The two letters stand for the country of origin. DE means Germany, AT Austria, BE Belgium, LU Luxembourg, NL Netherlands, ES Spain, FR France, GR Greece, IE Ireland and IT Italy.

• The next two numbers stand for the federal state: 01 Schleswig-Holstein, 02 Hamburg, 03 Lower Saxony, 04 Bremen, 05 North Rhine-Westphalia, 06 Hesse, 07 Rhineland-Palatinate, 08 Baden-Württemberg, 09 Bavaria, 10 Saarland, 11 Berlin, 12 Brandenburg, 13 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 14 Saxony, 15 Saxony-Anhalt, 16 Thuringia.

• The last numbers stand for the laying farm and the barn number.

• The egg in the photo comes from Germany, more precisely from Bavaria, from the laying farm with the number 4285. The hen that laid the egg lives in free-range housing in barn 2.

• The origin of the eggs is determined by what is stamped on the egg. Some eggs are packed in Germany but come from neighboring countries. The packaging then says Germany, but the actual country of origin is stamped on the egg